Today's news summary, Jan. 22, 2014

NEWS: There have been five similar knifepoint robberies in the City and Town of Poughkeepsie since Thursday, two of which occurred Tuesday night, according to police. The first robbery Tuesday occurred at the Lollipop Tree Flower Shop at 37 Lincoln Ave. around 5:20 p.m., city police said. The suspects are described as three black males in hooded sweatshirts, with their hoods up and faces covered and only their eyes exposed, police said. The suspects took about $100 and fled east on Franklin Avenue on foot, police said. All three suspects were wearing gloves, according to police. Two of them wore winter gloves and the third had blue latex gloves on, police said. About an hour and 20 minutes later, two men armed with pocketknives stole money from the cashier at Smokes 4 Less at 737 Main St. in the Town of Poughkeepsie and made off with an undetermined amount of cash, Town of Poughkeepsie police said in a statement. Anyone with information on the robberies is asked to call the Town of Poughkeepsie police Detective Division at 845-485-3670 or the City of Poughkeepsie police tipline at 845-451-7577.

Education advocacy groups, legislators and teachers said Wednesday that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed 3.8 percent increase in school aid wouldn't be enough to cover schools' growing costs. They reiterated their call that Cuomo increase school aid by nearly 10 percent, or a $1.9 billion increase. Cuomo proposed a $807 million increase for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which starts April 1. His plan would bring school aid to nearly $22 billion. "The school-aid dollars are simply devastating. After five straight years of classroom cuts this will mean yet another round of cuts," Billy Easton, executive director of Alliance for Quality Action, a labor-backed group, at an news conference near the Capitol. The current 2013-2014 budget had a 4.9 percent increase in education aid. Cuomo and lawmakers have tied increases in school aid to personal income growth. School aid has increased in the last two years after being flat or declining for several years. Education groups, though, said the state's roughly 700 school districts would need $1.1 billion just to prevent cuts to programs and staff this year. Last week, 83 members of the Legislature sent a letter to Cuomo pushing for the $1.9 billion increase.

BUSINESS: IBM Corp. plans to cut jobs again this March as it tries to cope with a sharp slump in sales in its hardware division despite an overall gain in profits in 2013. That segment, known as the Systems and Technology Group, is the major part of IBM's presence in Dutchess County, where it employs several thousand people and laid off 697 of them in September. This year's actions will be about the same scale as last year's, but earlier, said the new chief financial officer, Martin Schroeter, in a Tuesday afternoon teleconference briefing of brokerage analysts. That means the actions will cost the company $1 billion, give or take $100 million, he said. He did not mention numbers or where the cuts will be made. The money covers severance payments and related costs, and is a charge against earnings that they expect to make up - and more - over time. Last year's "workforce rebalancing" hit more than 3,300 U.S. IBMers, according to the Alliance@IBM, a workers' group.

SPORTS: After Tuesday's slate of high school sports events was postponed by the weather forecast, Wednesday's games went off without a hitch. The schedule is highlighted by a girls basketball showdown between Beacon and Lourdes, and a boys basketball matchup between Arlington and Poughkeepsie. Visit the Journal's Varsity Club blog for the complete schedule, and for scoreboard updates throughout the night.

COMING THURSDAY: Check out Family Life for a story about the many mid-Hudson Valley residents who are connected to this year's Grammys on Sunday, either with nominations or having played on albums up for honors. The biggest local name is Pete Seeger, who is nominated for Best Spoken Word Album.

How can recreational karate help you get in better shape in 2014? Check out Thursday's Players section for the final installment of the "A Better You" series of features, explaining the healthy benefits of getting involved with karate.

WEATHER: It's going to be another cold night, with increasing clouds and a low around -2. Thursday will remain cloudy with a high near 19, though wind chill could bring it down to -2.

To read the complete versions of these stories, click "Top News" in the navigation of your tablet site, iPhone or Android app or the Journal's mobile site, m.poughkeepsiejournal.com. You can also visit www.PoughkeepsieJournal.com.

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Today's news summary, Jan. 22, 2014

Five knifepoint robberies since Thursday have two police agencies looking for suspects and the public's help; some groups are asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to boost the school aid figures he proposed